Gem Set Love

The waist-high display cases lining this two-story boutique on bustling NW 23rd Avenue are outfitted with little white notes that read in small black print: “Please do not lean on the glass.” How cruel. It’s not our fault that owner Paula Bixel’s eye-popping assembly of antique diamond rings, sparkling brooches, silver pendants, and ruby-encrusted gold hoop earrings lures us in so close that we’re practically smashing our faces against the glass. Near a display of Georgian—and Victorian—era rings bedecked with golf-ball-size rocks, another note warns that they are “not for everyday wear.” Upstairs, even men get to ogle at macho rings fashioned out of 1920s quarters. Indeed, Gilt brims with possibilities. Just remember, leaning isn’t one of them.